This success demonstrates that digital organising can deliver union wins if workers and their unions stand together and follow a strategic and systematic approach to building trade union power.
Frustrated with the fact that only 20 employees out of 517 were covered by a sectoral collective agreement and faced with weak union representation at company level, the Finnish industrial workers union FIU, affiliated to industrial Europe, successfully targeted the company in question with a strategic organising campaign.
The 12-week campaign was run entirely with digital tools and platforms and delivered the following results:
- 70% union density reached
- 60 new members recruited
- 90% of workers engaged in actions
- A transitional company agreement, valid until 1 January 2021, when the sector agreement enters into force
- Recognition of the elected shop stewards in every workplace
This success demonstrates that digital organising can deliver union wins if workers and their unions stand together and follow a strategic and systematic approach to building trade union power.
The target company has built a diverse portfolio from design to production with 517 employees in 29 workplaces all over Finland. Only 20 employees out of 517 were covered by the sectoral collective agreement of the media and print industry. For the others, the employer executes a yellow contract labelled ‘The terms of responsible employers’. Union representation was weak with only one chief shop steward nationwide and one occupational health and safety representative. FIU, the industrial workers union, took matters in hand and decided to run a strategic and professional campaign based on the following building blocks:
Know your target, plan, set up your team and build collective power
FIU produced a company profile and devised a 12-week campaign plan with clearly defined tasks and responsibilities for the organising team. All 29 workplaces of the company were mapped to distinguish members and non-members as well as departments and shifts. The organising team identified potential leaders to build an organising committee. Campaign tools such as surveys, petitions and delegation of 40 members to the employer handing out a petition to start collective bargaining were used to build collective power. FIU did this without once meeting the activists.
One message, 3 aims, one strategy
Trained organisers from FIU´s regional offices approached the different sites simultaneously. The message “A responsible employer complies with the collective agreement” convinced workers to take action. The 3 specific aims of the campaign were clearly defined: 1) the employer must follow the collective agreement of the media and print sector; 2) all workplaces will elect and recognise shop stewards; 3) a minimum of 65% union density must be achieved. For all sites, a common strategy was applied: highlighting a problematic workplace issue and activating potential new members to solve that issue collectively. While each organiser focussed on the assigned target sites, the campaign followed a common schedule, and all organisers were coordinated by FIU´s central organising department.
Digital organising works!
The campaign was entirely executed remotely by using different digital tools and platforms and thereby fully taking social distancing guidelines into consideration. The organising team was essentially working from home and communicated by phone and via online meetings with workers and workplace leaders. Surveys and petitions were conducted using digital tools.
Industriall Europe congratulates the workers and FIU for their success! To support our affiliates in their efforts to organise and build trade union power, we regularly share good practices and success stories on our dedicated webpage.
Contact: Andrea Husen-Bradley (press and communication), Ildikó Krén (strategic organiser)